Phil Ochs

Folk Singer

Birthday December 19, 1940

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace El Paso, TX

DEATH DATE Apr 9, 1976 (35)

#138,943 Most Popular

About

American protest singer who performed for numerous anti-Vietnam War rallies, civil rights rallies, and organized labor events.

Before Fame

He studied journalism at The Ohio State University, but went to Miami after his first semester where he was imprisoned for sleeping on a park bench. He called himself a singing journalist.

Trivia

He idolized such big-screen heroes as John Wayne, although he was intensely disappointed with Wayne's pro-Vietnam War movie The Green Berets from 1968.

Family Life

He was the son of physician Jacob Ochs and his Scottish-born wife Gertrude Phin.

Associated With

He was heavily influenced by Elvis Presley. His impact on folk music in the 1960s was often compared to the impact Bob Dylan had.